


Mystery Bats Inc

by Lepidopterrain



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Also lowkey he's Damian's dad, Duke is Spooked, Dumbass bois dragging their baby bro and overly indulgent sister on ghost hunts, Fluff, He just is., He's a little dumb sometimes tho, Just being realistic, Non Superhero AU, Protective Dick Grayson, Shut up Tim ghosts are real, The bat-fam has gotten so big and I love them all, This accidentally gained a plot, This is absolutely dumb but I love it, Tired Bruce Wayne, Trying to figure out if I missed anyone lmao, Will they actually find a ghost?, but mostly it's Dick, ghost hunters au, i will die on this hill, like so is Bruce, no beta we die like robins, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26547211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lepidopterrain/pseuds/Lepidopterrain
Summary: "Well," Tim started slowly, ignoring the protests of his brother. "Dick said there were ghosts here. Dami and I said that ghosts weren't real, so then we called Jason, who said they were. Then we called Babs and Cass, but they were split too. So then we hit the internet and looked at ghost hunting shows and, well, to cut a long-story short, now Dick says we should try being ghost hunters, so he can prove it."It sounded absurd.Which meant it was absolutely something his eldest would do.Or.In a world without capes, the children of eccentric playboy billionaire Bruce Wayne want for nothing, have all the spare time in the world, and have long been the cause of the suffering and migraines of those around them.Or.The bat-kids started a ghost hunting company. Prepare for missions with... the supernatural!? Featuring friends, family, and maybe some ghosts if we can convince Tim that they're real. Tags with those who will be featuring in later chapters will be updated as we go.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 32
Kudos: 102





	1. Chapter 1

So. The thing. The thing was this....

Growing up with an eccentric billionaire who liked to adopt children like children adopted stray kittens? 

Fine, great, grand. Up until you tried to go out into society and live a normal life. Then? Not so great. 

Jim Gordon had seen it all with those kids. The good, the bad, the ugly, the downright _weird._ He'd had a cordial relationship with Bruce since his parents had died, back when he'd been much younger and still just a regular officer. They'd gotten to be good friends when Dick and Barbara were in classes together, and he liked to think that he'd developed a decent relationship with the eldest Wayne kid over the years. 

He'd been there for Jason's rebelious streaks, often feeling glad that _he_ was the one pulling the hot-headed teen and his friends over for speeding, and not any of his more trigger-happy officers. As much as he liked the second-eldest son, the kid did have a special talent for pushing people's buttons. It didn't help that the crowd he liked running with was... less than exemplary. But Roy and Kori, at least, seemed to know which lines to toe rather than flat out cross. It could be worse. 

The next two hadn't been nearly so troublesome. Tim and Cass both liked hanging out with Barbara, age difference be damned, and it wasn't unusual to find them lounging about the Wayne Mannor together working on some computer coding thingy that Jim knew he was to old to ever begin to understand. Well. Tim and Barbara worked on it, anyways. Cass was the quietest of the Wayne children, and seemed happy to just bask in the good vibes of the rooms like a cat soaking in the sunlight. 

And then, of course, there was Damian. 

Oh, Damian. 

Finding out that Bruce had an actual biological son wasn't all that surprising. He _was_ a playboy, after all. He'd never heard any rumors of a pregnancy scandal before, which was honestly even more surprising. Didn't most billionaires have to deny paternity left and right? It honestly made Jim worry about Dick, who had been gaining quite the reputation as a young cassanova himself. Turns out though, the best form of birth control was to suddenly be forced to stop dating and start parenting your tiny ~~sometimes murderous~~ baby brother. 

It was hard to say who had leeched himself onto who, but from Jim's experience you could be left alone in a room with a Dick who didn't have a Damian. Being left in a room with a Damian who didn't have a Dick?

Well. He had enough officers with bruised shins and kneecaps to answer that. 

The kid usually didn't get into much trouble, still too young and having so far been kept well in check by Dick, but they'd had to rescue him from would-be kidnappers once. Getting the kid wasn't hard, keeping him contained once they had him was. It had suddenly made sense why the kidnappers had handed themselves over with so little prompting. 

Still. The Wayne kids were as good as they could be, considering the rough lives they'd had before being adopted, and the general absence of their supposed father figure once they had been adopted. 

Jim wondered vaguely how Alfred managed. Because each was a handful in their own right, but together?

A migraine. 

One he could feel beginning to pulse between his eyes as he took in the scene in front of him. 

He'd been called over to investigate "suspicious activity" in a run-down abandoned mannor on the outskirts of town. Usually it didn't fall into his details of duty, but the force had been spread thin lately, and Jim was nothing if not devoted to the officers who served under him. He'd been expecting to find some homeless people looking for shelter, or maybe petty criminals scavanging the last of whatever was in the place... not.... _this._

Six pairs of eyes looked at him brightly from where they were sitting in a haphazard circle around what looked to be a camera and several other sets of unidentifiable equipment. Six mouths opened to (undoubtably) begin shouting their explanations at him. So, holding a finger up to silence them, Jim pointed _at his own daughter. "_ Explain."

"We're ghost hunting."

"Ghost hunting," he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the migraine pang again. "Barbara, Babs, sweetheart. Aren't _most of you_ too old to be chasing fairy tales?"

There was an annoyed little snort, causing him to turn his attention to a grumpy looking Damian, all settled in Dick's lap. "That's what _I_ said, but I got outvoted. Richard _insisted_ that there were _actual_ ghosts here. If there are, I'm just hoping they eat Timothy."

There was a little cry of outrage from the mentioned boy before Jason pitched in with a laugh, "Ah, c'mon now. Demons are the ones that eat people, you of all people should know, right Demon Brat?"

Issuing a long-suffering sigh, Jim turned and left the building, cell already in hand and Bruce Wayne's number pulled up via speed-dial. Behind him he could hear all the kids burst into spontaneous arguement. Technically, it wasn't that big a deal, and he _really_ didn't feel like filling in the paperwork. Time to make the adult responsible for this mess be _responsible._

* * *

Bruce Wayne pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the impending migraine as he talked to Jim over the phone (the other had not mentioned his own migraine, but Bruce knew that if _he_ had one, then so did the commissioner). Eventually they both determined that the kids were, probably, fine. But Bruce still should head over. So he did. It wasn't a far drive by any means, but as the sun started to set on one of the most dangerous cities in the world, it wouldn't hurt to make sure everyone made it home in one piece. 

By this point, apparently, the kids had split up. The first group he ran into was Tim and Jason. The two middle sons were either in the middle of an intense arguement and about to kill each other, or in the middle of an intense arguement and about to come to some amazingly clever breakthrough. 

There would be bloodshed either way. 

Clearing his throat, he glanced down at them with his best stern-dad impression, feeling statisfied when Tim looked decently sheepish, ~~Jason was a lost cause so he just ignored the defiant glare of the slightly older boy.~~

"Explain."

"Well," Tim started slowly, ignoring the protests of his brother. "Dick said there were ghosts here. Dami and I said that ghosts weren't real, so then we called Jason, who said they were. Then we called Babs and Cass, but they were split too. So then we hit the internet and looked at ghost hunting shows and, well, to cut a long-story short, now Dick says we should try being ghost hunters, so he can prove it."

It sounded absurd. 

Which meant it was absolutely something his eldest would do. 

So, with a sigh, Bruce moved on, going further into the old structure, eyes straining in the near-darkness. Going from the entrance (where he could still hear Tim and Jason fighting over where, hypothetically, the best place for a noose would have been in the house's glory-days) to what would have once been the sitting room, he ran into the girls. 

"Miss Gordon, Cass," he greeted, extra warmth seeping into his tones. The boys liked to say that Cass was his favorite ~~they weren't wrong~~ but he still did his best to appear angry with both the girls ~~although he undeniably had a soft spot for the redhead as well.~~ "Care to clue me in?"

"Ok, well, you see--" Barbara started, only to be cut off with a single word from Cass. 

"Seance."

Looking around the room, he was able to see that the two had lit candles, scattered around various points, and were sitting in an odd drawn circle. Cass was eyeing him warily, clearly he was not invited. There was a camera in one corner of the room, and he was sure more were put up in spots he couldn't see. So with a nod, he backed slowly out of the room. "Right. Don't get possessed, Alfred would be put out if you came home wanting human blood and flesh over his food."

The girls giggled behind him. 

Closing the door (Tim and Jason had gone quiet by now, which was slightly ~~extremely~~ concerning), he made his way to the old library, where he met the final pair. Or one of them, anyways. 

Damian was sat alone in the middle of the floor, cheeks smushed up into his hands as he pouted (Bruce was tempted to coo at the sheer cuteness, but he valued his life). His youngest fixed him with a scowl ~~that mirrored the one Bruce used at work and ahhh it was so _adorable_~~. "Father. I assume you have come to these asinine shenanigans at the insistence of Gordon's father."

Trying to stifle a giggle, Bruce nodded. "Indeed. Where's your brother?"

Damian pointed up. 

There was a familiar rustle in the rafters of the room, sunken and broken though they were. A _whoosh_ of air, and suddenly the bright baby blue eyes of his eldest son were twinkling at him with amusement. It had taken years for Bruce to get used to that, to stop flinching every time a lithe body swung from whatever hidden post he was on just to stop with the most _perfect_ timing. Dick had honed amazing muscle control over the years ~~damned circus training~~ and didn't hesitate to show it off. 

As it was, Dick was hanging perfectly from some sunk rafters (Bruce hoped that the young man had actually checked the stability of the old structure before hanging off of it) and grinning at him happily. "'Sup B!"

"Dick, what on _earth_ are you doing?" 

"Setting up cameras in the rafters, the room corners, everywhere really, oh! And infa--"

"No, _Dick,"_ Bruce sighed exasperatedly. He loved his eldest, really. But the boy was a _menace_ the likes of which Jason and Damian could only hope to achieve. "What on earth are you _doing?"_

"Oh well. You've already talked to the others, right? We're ghost hunting." Dick had stopped grinning, but flipped up to bring himself down from the rafters. Standing in front of Bruce, he'd never reached his adopted father's height, but he was still plently tall. "Dami and I are checking out the rumors of a library spirit...."

Leaning closer to Bruce, Dick lowered his voice out of range for Damian to hear him. "I wanted him away from the sitting room just in case there really _is_ a demon or something. Even though he wouldn't say so, it was making him nervous." 

Huh. Taking a closer look at his youngest, Bruce did now see that the knuckles of his fist were especially tight and white. Almost inperceptibly, the little body seemed to be shaking. And yet, he also knew better than to say it out loud, probably the same way that Dick had known. Well. That was thoughtful? Maybe it could have been avoided in the first place if they kids hadn't decided to hunt the supernatural.... but apparently Dick had been careful when pairing up the kids and assigning tasks, since this was really the only room in any danger of caving in, and he'd taken on the more risky tasks whilst keeping his baby brother in the safer part of the room where he could be watched. 

So with a reluctant nod, Bruce met Dick's eyes. "Just... remember not to keep them out too late. Barbara can spend the night with us, but if none of you are able to make it to breakfast in the morning, Alfred's the one you'll have to answer to."

And so he spun on his heels, ignoring the little victorious whoop behind him. As he checked on the girls and the other boys again on his way out he was slightly comforted by the fact that maybe they weren't being as irrisponsible as he'd feared. And more importantly they were having _fun_ and being _kids._

That was probably important, right?

* * *

The results of the children's night out was not seen for several weeks. 

Not until Alfred had pushed Jason. The second eldest son had always been the quickest to cave for him, just narrowly beating the times procured by bribing Timothy with extra caffeine. The resignation in the ~~child~~ ~~teen~~ young man's eyes had him curious, but he decided to wait until all the children had been bustled off for the morning and he had a moment of silence in the house _alone_ to watch the online video that Jason had sent him the link to. 

And oh was it so worth it. 

The video was roughly 45 minutes, probabably edited by Miss Gordon, and showcased the shenanigans they'd gotten to throughout the night, from investigating in teams to covering the house's (and the area's in general, really) history to trying to summon a demon. By the end of the video all they'd gotten proof of was that there was _not_ a demon (Damian looked relieved, Timothy smug). When the young Master Drake had tried to claim victory to an earlier argument about ghosts, Richard had turned to him with a smug expression of his own. 

"You know, we didn't prove that ghosts aren't real. We didn't even prove that they _aren't here,_ just that there isn't a demon here...

"So join us next time as we once again look for conclusive evidence that Timmy is _wrong_ because ghosts are _totally real_! This has been Dick Grayson and the rest of uh-- _quick we forgot to think of a name, guys!--_ Mystery Bats Inc! Byyyeee!"

The video cut out with Timothy and Damian screeching unhappily, presumably about the name, whilst the other children laughed. It was precious. 

Alfred was quick to send it to Master Bruce and Commissioner Gordon, who apparently had been quick to send it out to their acquaintances, because by the end of the day it had gone somewhat _viral,_ much to Jason and Damian's absolute embarrassment (Richard, on the other hand, had been absolutely _thrilled)._

After all, the five young heirs ~~of essentially all of Gotham~~ were, for all the headaches they caused, undoubtably _adorable_ when left free to their own devices. 


	2. Chapter 2

It was only a few hours after the initial video went up that the manor got the call. 

"Dickface! You ass, why didn't you bring _me?!"_

With a smug smirk, Jason chided the other end of the line. "Hold up, wrong Wayne bro, it's Jace. I'll get the little bastard for ya'."

Then he called up the stairs. "HEY! TIMMY BOY, IT'S FOR YOU!"

* * *

So, then, because now they were all a _thing_ now, they began to plan for the next time. Tim had completely planned on this _never happening ever again_ but Steph was nothing if not painfully insistant. 

Dick had put him in charge of research, but until they picked a new location there wasn't really anything to look into. Jason and Dami had been of the opinion that putting up a map of Gotham and throwing a dart would probably be fine, what with the long and admittedly morbid history of the dark city. However, Dick was _dramatic_ and wanted to intentionally pick something that would be promising. 

His first pick had been the asylum, but that had been met with firm rejection from literally everyone. 

Tim was pretty sure that the only reason the eldest hadn't pushed it was the way Dami had gone abnormally pale at the suggestion, the youngest clearly not able to handle the inherant creepyness of the place. 

So now they were waiting. Together. On Dick. Because the eldest claimed to have found "another perfect place" and told them all to meet in the mannor library at _exactly_ 2pm. It was now 3:17. 

Jason had settled quickly into his favorite squishy armchair and was reading some text that Tim was bored of before he could even read the title. Cass was settled on a beanbag that she had dragged in, seeming to be napping but more than likely wide awake and just listening to the quiet white noise of the room. Damian had settled in a window seat with a sketch pad and a smudge stick within reach.

(Admittedly, one interesting side effect of all this was seeing the appearance of the brat's more superstitious side. The brat had been, and was still, vocally adamant about the fact that ghosts didn't exist, yet he had taken to taking up certain anti-spirit precautions. No one had been dumb enough to confront him about it yet, and Tim wasn't planning on being the first, but they probably had all come to the conclusion that it had something to do with the way his ~~bitch~~ mother had raised him.)

Tim was being tortured. 

He had settled on the loveseat that was situated in the room, only to have Steph follow him, sit behind him, grab his hair and _yank._ Ok, she claimed to be styling his locks (which had admittedly grown a bit long) but the aggression with which she pulled and twisted the strands was completely unnecessary! ~~"Shut up Tim, this is literally how every girl does her hair, should we ask Cass?"~~

He was about to shove his ~~ex girlfriend, possibly closest friend,~~ annoying companion off of him when the door to the room finally flew open, revealing a very harried looking Dick and a much calmer Barbara. "Good! You're all here!"

Which was the _wrong_ thing to say, apparently. Jason jumped up, expression having gone from content to livid in the blink of an eye. "Yeah, we're all here! Where the hell have _you_ been, Mr. 'be there or I'm ratting out your nightly escapades to Bruce'."

Oh. Now that Tim thought about it, it did make sense that blackmail was the only reason Jason had been willing to sit with them that long. 

Cass and Dami didn't look all that bothered. The former had gone to sit with her little brother, being one of the only three people who could get away with touching the demon child. They were curled up in the window watching with mild ~~amusement~~ interest as Dick nodded, pretending to take Jason's yelling as constructive criticism to heart before waving it away. "Yea, yeah, now, as to why I've gathered you all here!

"Barbara and I have done some _extensive_ searching for a good location for our second shoot, and at long last we have gained actual permission to be somewhere! So, you should all pack a bag, because we are going to be doing an overnight shoot at the downtown Gotham Library!" 

Steph nodded, fingers still tangled in Tim's hair. "Sure thing, when?"

Dick just stared, as though it should be obvious. "I did just say pack your bags, right? You heard that? Tonight, of course. Timmy, we'll need a full report on possible supernatural activities by 9ish!"

It was a good thing Steph had a tight hold on his hair, because Tim did his damnedest to lunge at his idiot eldest brother, fully intent on bashing that pretty face.

* * *

Jason hated admitting nice things about Tim, but the kid _was_ really good at the whole research gig. With Steph's help, of course. 

The almost annoying perky and clever blonde was sat between him and Tim on the drive to the library (probably so they wouldn't murder each other on the way and create a ghost story for the van). Dick drove the van, Damian sat happily in shotgun (he _always_ go to ride shotgun when Dick drove, but no one was about to say anything because no one else was really willing to sit with him), Barbara and Cass got the second row and a whole extra seat of space, with the trio on row three. The fourth row was filled with various pieces of equipment that really could have probably fit in the trunk (was Dick trying to be petty? who was it meant for?). 

Bruce Wayne had, at least, the forsight to see that the 12 passanger van (and subsequent driving lessons for himself, Alfred, and Dick) would be completely necessary with the ever-expanding size of their family and close family friends. Jason was not allowed to drive the van. Bruce said it was because he didn't trust Jason and his friends not to use it as a get away van. 

Which. Was probably a valid concern. 

"Question for the van!" Steph suddenly shouted from besides him, causing him to jolt a bit. "Why are we Mystery Bats Inc? We aren't a corporation!"

There were several snorts from various parts of the van. One from him, Tim, and Damian each. 

" _Yeeaaahhh,_ Dick!" Timothy shouted, his I'm-A-Little-Shit grin stretched wide across his face. "Why _are_ we called that when we aren't incorporated!?"

There was a ~~long suffering~~ sigh from the driver before he spoke. And even if Jason couldn't _see_ Dick's face, he could _hear_ the pout in the older boy's face. "Well, I don't know it was kinda-- oh well. So! 'Mystery' because we're gonna solve the mysteries of the paranormal, duh! Any good ghost busting group has gotta have that in their name somehow. And then 'Bats' because of the colony that lives on the mannor grounds, and also because I didn't think I could convince Dami to stay if I didn't include an animal somehow-- _don't look at me like that Dami you know it's true_ \--and uh. Well, Inc just sounded good? And we _aren't_ incorporated but we should totally keep it in anyways and if anyone asks we'll just straight up say that we put in a non-word and it means absolutely nothing but keep it on the dl, ok?"

There were giggles from all rows of the car, and Jason decided not to tell his brother that he had the whole thing recorded as he emailed the file to Babs. She looked over her shoulder to shoot him a shit-eating grin. Oh, this would for _sure_ be making it into the final version of this fiasco. 

After only a few moments of silence, the car rolled to a stop. "We're here!" 

After only some _mild_ stampeding to escape the van, they all made it out onto the asphalt, each grabbing whatever piece of equiptment Dick handed them and heading inside where they were greated by a kindly older librarian. She eyed Jason and Damian suspiciously (again, probably valid) before turning to the girls with a smile and a coo as she began to give them the grand tour, showing some various "hotspots" for activity and where they could set up a base of operations and whatnot. 

Jason did have to say, this was heads and shoulders above camping out in a condemned disaster that looked as though it were about to fall on them at any point in time. it was still creepier than hell, but hey. At least it had proper heating and wasn't damp or too overtly moldy. 

She then left, locking them all in for the night as she did. 

Looking around, Dick nodded. "Right, well, time to set up some filming spots. Once the cameras are up in this main area we'll start to divide and conquer, how's that sound?"

The kids nodded, and surprisingly, all sprung into action setting up the cameras in the various corners where Dick thought they'd get the best angles (with input from resident photography expert Timothy ~~despite his protests that videography and still shot photography were really very different and they were being so very rude how dare--).~~ Once done, they all crowded around again. 

* * *

"Cool," Dick nodded approvingly at the various cameras. "Yeah, this'll do. Ok, so next order of business, decide where we wanna investigate. We only have one night to do this, and there's a lot of supposed paranormal activity in this building since it issss, how old, Timmers?" 

"Some parts of the building have been around since the 1700s," Tim input helpfully, "It's served several purposes, from school to hospital to police headquarters to, now, a library. Each inhabitant has added on, but some parts of the original still exist, having been preserved by the Gotham Historical Society and the Martha Wayne Foundation for History and the Arts." 

Steph nodded, having remembered that from helping the boy genius research the building in the limited time that his eldest brother had given them. "So, lots of ghosties from various eras."

"Right," Dick gave her an approving look. She'd been introduced to the cameras in the van, and Babs had assured her that she'd be editing in a intro sequence that explained who each of them were. Steph had no doubt it would include some spectacular bloopers and she was _here for it._

"So, I think our best bet is to split up into teams again, each one tackling a different hotspot. We'll go over the history of each spot once we get there, set up whatever equipment we deem appropriate, and stake it out. Rejoin again in the morning, maybe around..." Dick hesitated, looking at his watch. Steph knew it was around 10pm now, not especially late for a student like herself or Tim, but Damian already looked spent, poor kid. He didn't sleep much earlier than they did though, to her knowledge, so maybe he was just tired of dealing with Dick. 

That.... sounded more likely.

"Maybe around 4am? That should give us plenty of time to wrap up and pack before the library opens again at 8."

Steph hummed her approval of 'The Plan' as the others also confirmed or nodded or whatever. 

The teams split up pretty naturally, Jace and Timmers headed to one edge of the library (Steph and the others pretended not to notice it was the fictional literature, nor that they were particularly close to where Shakespeare's works would be kept, whatever kept Jason happy kept the group happy), whilst Babs and Cass claimed the second floor. Dick and Dami were seeming to want to take the basement, which sounded good to her. Following them down, she shivered at some of the creepy old walls. This would be one of the oldest sections of the library, used as a temporary hospital and morgue at some point. 

Damian seemed to wake up a bit more as she explained this to the cameras. 

She hoped the poor kid wouldn't get nightmares about this. Then again. Didn't she? He _was_ a holy terror. 

When they reached the basement they set to work putting out cameras and infared equiptment, Dick taking the lead on explaining what they all did, and what they were hoping to see, yada yada yada. Steph tuned him out pretty easily, she'd had a lot of practice at it. When they'd finished with the main room, they went into one of the spare rooms, which seemed to have been transformed into a conference area that library users could rent out for periods of time. It was pretty sweet, actually. She'd have to try it out next time she had a study group. 

By now, Damian was _clearly_ getting sleepy which meant he was getting meaner than usual. Seeing as Dick had _too much_ energy, Steph decided that this would be the best time to check on the others before she got caught in the crossfires of whatever was about to go down. 

Escaping the basement she checked in on the boys (who had set up cameras before moving on and goofing off by settling into odd nooks, Tim with a computer and Jason with enough books to build a fort. Was there even a point if he couldn't possibly physically go through them all in one night? Would he be checking them out in the morning? Should she pretend she never saw him in case they ended up "missing"?) before moving on up to chill with the girls. As much as she enjoyed spending time torturing Tim, sometimes it felt good to have girl time. 

Upstairs, she located the girls easily. They had set up in a clear carpeted area of the children's section, and were staring intently at a toy ball in the center of the room. Babs explained helpfully that they were waiting to see if a ghosty baby would move the ball. But before too long they just let a camera and motion sensor take their places and moved on to a different area to goof off as well. Cass had brought some face masks and nail polish, so it was easy to make a proper sleepover out of the whole event. 

Truthfully, this had been her real motivation for joining the group. She knew how these girls were. This was, esspecially, girls night in, but out, and without the Ouji board (thank fuck). 

* * *

The newest video ended up being just as cute as the first, if not a tad more professional and a tad more chaotic. 

Bruce grinned and downloaded the whole thing off the internet (copyright laws be damned, no one _pays_ for downloads these days anyways!). One of his favorite stills from the whole escapade he printed out and subtly slipped into a hidden scrapbook that lived in a locked drawer in his desk (so Dick didn't steal it, and none of the other boys tried to burn it). 

In the frame, the girls sat with mud masks on, having clearly just been caught by Damian, who was followed into the room by all his brothers. Steph was mid-laugh, whilst Cass and Babs just stared defiantly at the boys in question, the latter not hesitating to flip them all off. It was so chaotic yet _wholesome_ and really the perfect example of what exactly his little (huge) family was. 

~~Although, when he got a call the next day from the library about a large amount of books that had gone "missing" after the taping of the video, he wondered if he _really_ needed all four of his sons. Would anyone notice if Jason went "missing" too?~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably not do too many more of these, but it is just a fun cutesy concept for me to flesh out when I have the time/energy. Everything kinda sucks irl at the moment, so having something to cheer up the day is always a good, right? 
> 
> Anyways, hope you all enjoyed! Any thoughts on who should guest star on the next episode(s)? I've got a few people lined up, but alway happy to hear from yall!
> 
> Stay safe, love each other!


	3. Chapter 3

"Wayne Mannor."

She grinned, hearing the familiar voice of the family's long-time butler and patriarchal figure. The soothing cadence of the old man's accent and tone was more than welcome to her busy busy life, even if it was only over the phone. "Alfie! Darling! Mind passing me on to Dickie? I tried calling him directly, but you know how tricky it can be, what with him being such a little socialite."

"Yes ma'am of course, if you'll hold on for just a moment." She could have sworn she could hear the old man smiling. "And Miss? It _is_ so _very_ good to hear from you again. Please, do not be a stranger."

* * *

"Alrighty!" Dick grinned at his assembled ~~lackeys crew~~ family. "Great news! We got permission to film overnight at the HQ of the Gotham Historical Society!"

Jason whistled from where he was perched on the armrest of the couch. " _Faaaaancyyyy._ How'd you pull that off? I thought they _hated_ this kinda stuff. They're so hush hush with what goes on in there."

Tim, who was actually seated on the couch like a real human being, also looked impressed. "Dude. I've been trying to hack my way into their members for _months._ I've got this theory--"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Steph interrupted, looking up from where she an Cass were sat on the rug, purple nail polish out and fuming up the place. "They're all a part of a secret evil society hell-bent on taking over Gotham, we've _all_ heard it before, Timmers. And if I've told you once I've told you a thousand times, the Court of Owls isn't _real--"_

There were groans from around the room as Tim began shrieking in protest. Normally, Dick had much more interest in the theory (he hadn't heard the Gotham-specific rhyme until after his parent had died and he'd been adopted by Bruce, but despite being well over 11 years old the story had _creeped him the fuck out_ ). Today, however, was not the day. "AHEM."

All eyes turned back to him. 

"So, technically, I didn't manage to do anything. We were invited by a member. So you better hope not all of them are secretly evil, Timmers, because you're forgetting which cool cat we know on the inside." 

There were grins around the room as everyone thought it over. Tim nodded with a thoughtful look. "Yeah, you're right. She'd never be an owl, she loves us too much." 

And then they were off. By now, all his little siblings had started packing go-bags, since they were never sure when Dick would have a new location ready. In his defense, he was never sure either. Things just kinda _happened_ at this point, and he rolled with it. The perks of being an acrobat were many. The perks of being Romani were somewhat less, but he had a cool language no one but the sibs got to know (making it excellent code-speak) and he was great at packing up and moving quickly. Plus, there was a certain pride to it. The others didn't really get it, other than Dami and possibly Cass? He was never sure, since she hadn't really spoken any language at all when they'd met. Her ~~asshole~~ dad was about as bad as Dami's ~~asshole~~ mom. 

Anyways. 

It was a lot to think about that he didn't want to think about, as he pulled up to the Society building. It was another one of those super-old and historically-significan buildings in Gotham. There weren't many left, but you'd think that they were all Gotham was if you had never been. Gotham was, as always, a clash between old and new. A struggle for dominance between peoples and ideals. 

The building itself was lovely. Well kept up by the funds of the billionaires in it's membership. Dick was never sure why Bruce didn't join. Something about not getting along with some of the members, maybe? Tim's genetic donors ~~not parents~~ had been members, and Dick wouldn't be surprised if the kid didn't get an invite when he was old enough. ~~Not any of the rest of them though. Their "pedigree" was not up to snuff. A circus orphan, and street kid, and a bastard could live in a mansion and call each other family, but it was never enough for Gotham's elite.~~

As they approached the entrance, the doors flew open. And there she was, smiling at them with a love and fondness that almost seemed out of place here. Selina Kyle ushered them all inside out of the cold of the autumn eve, doing her best to smother them all in hugs as they did (even Damian, which was a feat of magic in itself, Dick himself could only manage it when the kid was sick or exhausted). 

Dick had long ago learned to categorize people in his head. One, rather long, list was of Bruce's exes, and the ranking of friendliness that they could maintain. Publically, of course, they were all on amicable terms, but the kids knew the truth. Only two people did not go on the list. The first, naturally, was Talia. She was so horrid that he didn't want her anywhere near his thoughts (although she had, once again, made a recent bid for legal custody of Damian that was, once again, being dragged out publically in a gross way that made Dick feel his littlest brother was being far too exposed, far too hurt, and it _pissed him off)._

The second, was one Selina Kyle. The one who had come the closest to taming the wild man they all thought of as their father. She did not occupy a space on the list, or a category in his head. She was one who shared a very special title much closer to his heart, along with the late Mary Grayson. 

He wrapped his arms around the lithe woman, squeezing lightly. "Long time no see, Ma."

She smacked him upside the head, but didn't correct him. "Yes, too long."

Clearing her throat, she stepped back and looked at them all with a stern gaze. "Ok you rugrats!"

There were groans and giggles from the peanut gallery.

"There are rules tonight, ok? No propery damage! No stealing books from the private library, yes I'm looking at _you,_ Jason! Remember, I put my neck out for you, considering I rarely interact with the Society except for the yearly donations. This is about _my_ reputation as much as it is about _yours._ " She softened then, looking at them all fondly. "Have fun tonight. Don't get gobbled up by demons. I'd miss you very much." 

As per the rules of the society, she'd have to stay with them overnight whilst they were locked in. But Dick knew that it wouldn't be much of an issue. She'd likely settle in with the girls and let them do whatever. Selina had always been cool like that.

* * *

Cass loved her family. 

Even the ones that weren't _really_ family. But they _were._ Like Steph. Like Selina. 

It was hard for her to say, because she didn't have the words, often. But love, love was something she had in abundance now.

Everyone divided up quickly. This time they'd wanted to switch things up, so she was with Jason. Dami, Dick, and Babs had formed another group, leaving Steph and Tim to buddy up. Cass hoped that they wouldn't murder each other before the night was up. Selina might be annoyed if she had to pay for stain removal. Cass was happy that she and Jason would be in the same room as their sponsor for the night, flitting around the room in a light-stepped way. 

Selina laughed at her, at the way her happy-floating steps were so different than Jason's stomps. Happy stomps, but stomps. Her brother had a certain heaviness and aggression to him that was around even when he was as happy as he was right now. 

"Alright, kittens," Selina said softly, one of her hands pulling through Jason's soft tangled locks. The boy was taller than she, and had to bend a little bit, but looked content. Selina had been wise enough to place them in a blindspot of the camera. Which was a shame. No secret soft videos for Cass. Maybe the building had a security system she could have Babs hack into later. 

~~It was, after all, for her collection. Sometimes shared with Dick, Bruce, and Alfred upon request.~~

"What's the plan?"

Cass held up the candles she had been lighting and setting around the room (far away from flamables) and then used her other hand to bring a smudge stick to the flame and light it. After a moment, she blew out the fire, letting the heavily-scented smoke fill the room. Barbara and Tim had both gone into coughing fits. Stephanie hadn't, she liked lighting incense at home, and neither did Jason. Probably because of those secret cigarettes she wasn't supposed to know about. 

"Seance." 

Jason grunted, and fidgeted uncomfortably. It had been a little bit of a shock to learn just how superstitious her normally down-to-earth brother was. Out of the four of them, she would not have pegged him for someone who believed in ghost stories. He had been a street kid before he was adopted into their family. Knew the ways and the evils of the world in ways that no child should ever have to ~~a different evil than the one she and Damian had known, but evil all the same. There was not one evil worse than the other. Both were bad.~~

She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing softly, before leading him to sit across from her. Selina chose to sit besides them as well, so they were in a little trio around a singular red candle (the others in the room were white, and purely for ambiance, which Babs and Steph had insisted were important). 

Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes. According to Tim, there had been at one point a very fancy bank here. But this was when Gotham was even less safe than it currently was, and the bank had been prone to robberies. People had died, often by bullet. Some supposedly remained, some people thought they were meant to be protectors, others warnings, others the failed theives waiting to try again. Cass did her best to feel them out, feel for anything unnatural in the room. 

Out of all her siblings, she'd always been the most sensitive. The man Dick insisted she refer to as her "genetic donor" ~~because he was not a father, was not family~~ had not taught her any language other than the language of movement and of the senses. As a result, she was fine tuned to unnatural drafts, chills, pressure drops, and other odd circumstances, as well as to the hidden emotions of her siblings. 

"Spirits," Jason intoned, deep rich baritone seeming to seep into the very room. 

"Spirits, those who have been lost between the planes of worlds, we reach out to you now. If you are here, please, let us know by blowing out some of the candles we have placed for you around the room."

Oh. He was _good._ Before, she and the girls had been just doing whatever ("Move the red candle" if it was Babs, "Fight me ghosty bitches," if it was Steph). Huh. Maybe they should've paid more attention to the online seance tutorials.

Cass opened her eyes and surveyed the room. She didn't see any flickers of light that would indicate a candle going out, nor did the room feel any different. 

For the next few minutes the process repeated itself, with Jason or Selina asking various questions ("Please put out the candles if you are around but do not wish to talk", "Please put out a candle if you are around from the banking era", and so on) to no avail. Finally Jason sighed, "thank you, spirits, for being in attendance with us tonight. We leave you know, and ask that you go back to whence you came." 

And with that, he blew out the center candle. 

After a moment of silence, Cass lifted her hands, and sighed a careful 'that was so fucking cool' to which Jason flushed a candle-red, and Selina crowed with laughter and pulled them both into hugs. 

"If I'd actually gotten a response," Jason admitted bashfully, "I would've bailed. No question. Cass can fight the ghosts."

She nodded, because yeah why not? She'd take on an incorporeal spirit to protect her family. 

* * *

Selina didn't bother checking up on the kids. She trusted them. If something went wrong Dami would let her know, anyways. It was funny, considering how opposed to her almost marrying his father he had been that the kid was now so attached to her. It only made her feel a tiny bit guilty for leaving. ~~Ok, a lot a bit.~~

The kid had disliked her on principle, she was pretty sure. His whole life, his "genetic donor" ~~Dick had insisted, but it really didn't take much for her to use it with glee~~ had told the boy for essentially his whole life thus far that _she_ was the one person meant to be with Bruce and that anyone else would... do... _something_ to the boy. Dami had never specified. Selina wasn't sure she wanted to know, but considering she wasn't exactly the most proud of her own genetics, she'd been more than happy to assure him that kids weren't exactly big on her priority list. And anyways, with so many of them already running around, already feeling like her own, it wasn't like she was in any rush to go through all the pains of having her own biological monsters.

And then, of course, things fell through the way that they did. Was it selfish then, for her to hope Bruce never found anyone else, if only so Dami would never have to worry about whatever it was that the Bitch Supreme had programmed into his head? 

She curled up happily in her corner, watching Jason and Cass clean up all the candles and any spilled wax. These were her kids too. Heck, even now she'd open her apartment door to find Jason curled up and shivering from the rain after a bad fight with Bruce. All too often, really. She'd haul his ass inside, had spare changes for him (and everyone else, even Steph and Babs), make him something warm to drink as he showered and changed into dry clothes while she laundered his wet ones. 

And then they'd sit. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they didn't. 

She'd do _anything_ for these kids.

Which was really the only reason she'd been willing to fuck with this godawful society group. They were a bunch of overpriviledged children with too much time, money, and racial bias, in her humble opinion. They emailed and called and shown up at her home non-stop for her support, which is the only reason she gave them money at all, so they'd _stop bothering her._ But with the kids' newest endeavor she was more than happy to flex her influence. 

At some point in the night, Steph and Tim came over from wherever they'd been doing whatever they were doing. Steph curled into her side immediately (the one Cass and Jason hadn't squished themselves into, that is) and Tim had leaned into her (it was, really, a wholesome dynamic of being exes who could still be best friends after their breakup and Selina was down for it). Then she must've drifted off, because it was morning and Dami had deposited himself on her lap overnight and Babs was passed out nearby. The only one awake was Dick. 

"Did you sleep, kitten?" She whispered softly. 

He shrugged. "A bit. You know this place gives Tim the creeps, so I mostly just. Kept busy to make sure he'd sleep better."

She hummed. Out of all the kids, the eldest had long been the most outwardly affectionate. Then again, from what she knew he'd been the only one to have proper loving parents before The Accident. Unconventional, maybe, but what made Bruce anywhere near conventional? Or anyone in Gotham high society, for that matter? 

They went home when everyone finally woke up (there had been lots of proding and coffee bribes to get Timothy moving, but that was standard). 

It was a little over a week later that Selina finally got to see the results of all their efforts. The video was cute, they'd given her proper credit and then explained the history of the building, blah blah blah, and then edited everyone's roles so that they all blended together seamlessly. It was sweet, and funny, and made a warm feeling swell in her chest as she watched them. 

As the episode came to an end her phone buzzed, a text alert. 

"Thanks  
-B"

She snorted, then frowned softly, cliscking the button on her phone to make it sleep. He didn't need to thank her. She hadn't done it for his approval, or whatever. She'd done it for her kids. 

And then she hit replay, watching with a fond smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Selina loves those wild beasts and you can't convince me otherwise. And yes, she calls them all "Kitten" regardless of which one she's talking to. Fight me. 
> 
> Also! Did you notice I'm actually fleshing this out and giving backstories?! What a wild time! Obviously I'm tweaking canon to fit my own schemes, but certain details should remain the same. Dami's is probably going to be the most different, with Cass's a close second. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! I was feeling particularly soft this week, thus Selina. Next up though, are probably two of the guests I've been most looking forwards to including! (Oh who am I kidding, I look forwards to them all.)


	4. Chapter 4

The door rang.

The door opened.

And Dick, accidentally, started the greatest catastrophe the family had gone through up to date.

* * *

Steph was tapping her feet on the back of Barb's seat. Clearing her throat she turned to look at the irate teen, cocking an eyebrow when Stephanie only snorted. 

Besides her, Tim looked like he was somewhat in pain, and next to _him_ Conner was scowling. 

In the row behind them, however, happy chatter and screeches floated through the van. One happy little Jon Kent was practically hopping out of his seat. Damian, in kind, was as happy as the kid could get, and even _chattering along_ , the only one outside of the Kent family really able to keep up with the other little boy. 

Which! That was _fantastic._ Entirely unexpected, possibly contributing even further to Conner's bad mood? Possibly. But hey! Letting Dami and Jon have a playdate was never a bad decision, even if said playdate turned into a ghost hunting sleepover. 

The two had really met because of Tim and Conner's friendship. They (Dick, turned into Dick and Dami because it was when Dami had first come to live with them and he would _only_ listen to Dick because Bruce was so alarmed he'd decided to be _dumb_ and accidentally distanced himself from the kid) had gone out to the Kent farm to grab a ~~runaway~~ Tim, who had decided that the solution to his problems was to go live on the Kent farm with his closest male buddy. 

Also at the farm when they went to grab Tim?

The rest of the Kent family. Including, but not limited to, Conner's much younger half brother, Jon. 

Jon had taken one look at Dami and declared them "Bestest Friends for Live and Forever" ~~and Dami had bitten him on the nose~~ and almost two years later, here they were! Best friends! ~~It only make Dick cry _sometimes_.~~ It was nothing short of a miracle. 

Cass was in the very back row, along with Jason and the equipment. And she looked more than content. Which was more than Barbara could say about _herself_ as Steph _again_ landed a harsh thump on the back of her seat.

It was, ultimately, Dick's fault. Why wasn't Steph thumping _his_ seat?!

There was one rule in the Wayne household. Ok. Several rules. But there was really only one rule that anyone _actually_ cared about, because the consequences were _dire._ It was simple, easy to follow rule. Dick was an idiot, because apparently it was one rule to many. 

It had all gone to hell this morning. The doorbell rang at like, 7 am according to a very disgruntled Dick (none of the Waynes were morning people) but probably closer to 10 in actuality. Other side of the door? The Kents. Most of them, anyways. Conner, Jon, and their father Clark. 

The boys had all arranged to come over _ages_ ago, back when this whole ghost hunting nonsense started. Jon had seen the first episode a _flipped his shit_ ~~according to Conner, which had gotten him a headslap from Clark~~ and begged Damian to go with. When Dick had agreed, the cutie had apparently started a huge Scooby-Doo binge. The condition was, if one boy went, the other went. Which wasn't a problem, because Tim. 

So, the guys had wandered into their rooms with their respective friends. Clark had managed to talk Bruce into having "a night on the town" ~~which probably meant a musical or something, knowing Clark.~~ She'd gotten there around noonish, to hang with Cass whilst Dick and Jason kept each other company. The mansion was devoid of any non-Alfred adults when the kids began to gather into the living room to discuss where they'd be heading for the evening. And then the doorbell rang. Again. 

Sharing confused looks with everyone else in the room, she had asked "Did... did someone order pizza? This is all of us, right?"

Dick had paled, which hat automatically set off alarm bells, and looked wide-eyed at Tim. "Hey, uh... Have you talked to Steph?"

Tim, likewise, paled as he caught the implication the same time she did. "Dick. Did you... did you not tell her?"

"Uhm--"

"Dick. You said you would tell her."

" _Uhhhm--"_

And with that said, Steph had bounced into the room. And Barbara loved Steph. She was a sister to her. But sometimes... Well. The kid could be _dramatic._

Steph had looked around the room, clearly ready to launch herself in Tim's direction when her eyes landed on Conner and all _hell_ broke loose. 

The one rule of the Wayne household. The _one sacred instruction:_

Do not let Steph and Conner try to chill with Tim at the same time. 

If one is in the house, do not let the other over. 

" _What the hell?!"_ The two had pointed at each other, fuming, ~~looking a bit like that Spiderman meme~~. 

It was almost funny, because the two were oh so very much alike. They were both a bit brash, loud, headstrong. Different aesthetics, sure. But under different circumstances they probably would have made great friends. Except, they were both _very_ convinced that _they_ were Tim's closest friend and both happened to be _very_ possessive when it came to the title. ~~She was also pretty sure that they'd both dated Tim, at various points in time, but the kid kept into about his dating life shut tighter than a new jar of queso sauce.~~

But it was too late to uninvite Conner, because Dami and Jon would've had a fit, and Steph was too competitive to leave, so now they were _here._

_Together._

Slowly bruising Bab's back. 

_She was gonna **kill** Dick._

* * *

Was this hell?

Tim was pretty sure this was hell. 

Was Dick mad at him for something? 

He sighed in relief as they finally made it to their destination, and bolted out of the warzone that was the car. Into... probably another warzone. Some old church that had turned into a school, that had turned into something else, that had then gone back into a school if he remembered right. Not that it really mattered. Because even if happened it wasn't haunted _now,_ it very well could house someone's ghost by the end of the night. 

Conner followed behind closely, escaping the vehicle only _moments_ before Steph launched herself out like the little catalist of chaos she was. 

The first stuck close to his side, only narrowly avoiding touching him (in some ways, the other male was like a cat, touch only on his own terms, but oddly always seeming to crave close personal proximity to "his" people) while the second grabbed his arm and attempted to drag him along with her (if he was a cat, she was an overly enthusiastic lab pup, happy to pull it's owner along with it in a quest to get all the affection and attention). 

He pretended not to notice as they glared at each other. 

Tim loved them both. They were family, friends, ~~whatever it was they were with their unspoken agreements~~ and sometimes, rarely, he'd been able to make them forget they were fighting, and things would be quiet and his heart would swell so it was almost _painful._ It never lasted though. So instead, the majority of the time, he just had to accept the massive migraine that was having the two of them in the room at the same time. 

Darting out in front of them, Jon and Dami were chattering away (Jon was, anyways, but Damian wasn't shouting at him to shut up so it counted). Conner made some sort of cute little winded noise that Tim had long since labled as "oh my god look how cute my little brother is UwU" ~~because Dick made the exact same sound and they were both absolute saps.~~

Soon enough they were setting up in the building, Tim rattling off whatever history at this point before they divided up. Dick hesitated when making the teams--a rare occurance--but it was more than obvious why. Step and Conner together wasn't that great an option, but having one go with someone else would be like picking a side, which was a big big _big_ no no. Sibling rules 101, duh. Don't pick sides if you don't wanna get wrecked. He looked at Tim with those big painful puppy eyes and Tim nodded slowly. They'd be fine. 

The wonder babies got to go with Dick ("Wow! Mr. Dick, sir, this is going to be so fun! Do you think they'll be friendly ghosts like Casper, Dami?!" "Tt.") whilst Jason, Cass, and Babs made up the final trio of madness. 

They set up their cameras quietly. Too quietly. Tim narrowed his eyes at them (they were now each trying to ignore and snub the other, he was pretty sure) before sighing and giving up. Looking aroud the room, his heart fluttered and he gasped. 

"What!? What's wrong?!" Conner sprung forward, fists going up, whilst Steph pressed herself close to him to act like a human shield (they were both dumb, and had both labled him as "the delicate one" and it was like, the only thing they'd ever willingly agree upon and he ~~loved~~ hated it). 

Tim pointed up, excitedly. _"Owl!"_

"Dude." Steph looked at him pointedly, the tension bleeding from her shoulders. "Don't _do_ that. I thought you'd seen a demon or something." 

Conner on the other hand, was staring at the owl, almost looking like one himself. He turned at long last and hummed. "Is that one of _your_ owls? The ones you text me about at three in the morning?"

Tim nodded excitedly. "Yeah! I've been tracking the buildings they show up in, most of the ones we've been to! Even that creepy ass old house! It's the symbol of the Court of Owls--"

"--a Gotham nursery story that Tim thinks is real and made up of the Elite--" 

"--that most certainly _is_ _real,_ and I'm gonna _prove it._ God, help me get good pictures of it! For the flow chart! Have I shown you the flow chart yet, Kon?"

The mentioned boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and I told you that a pin board with yarn isn't a flow chart, just crazy."

And yet, he still helped get proper lighting and a good shot whilst Tim rambled on. And when they thought he wasn't watching, Tim watched his two terrible compadres trade glances and nod in a sort of silent understanding that he was not privvy to. Then, they each grabbed one of his hands and they were off! Exploring the building on a search for more owls! 

And yeah, maybe they were both just silently agreeing to put up with his madness, but Tim was going to count it as _progress_ and he was more than happy to swing their hands softly as they went.

* * *

Jon was having so much _fun!_

This was the bestest night ever! Except for maybe that time Conner took him out on his motor bike without telling Pa, and it felt like they were flying! Or the time Mr. Dick took them to the circus and they got to ride on the elephant because when Mr. Dick was little (a million years ago) _he got to live with the elephant!_

Or maybe this _was_ the bestest, because Jon got to see Conner _and_ Dami! And he love love love _loved_ them both so much! 

He didn't always get to see Conner, because his _other dad_ had "partial custory" or whatever it was Pa had called it. Whatever it was, it was stupid. Jon wanted Connor to be there _all the time._ But, Dami said Mr. Dick didn't live with him all the time either, but not because of "partial custory" but because he was growed up and had his own house. Dami also said he liked Mr. Dick's house better, even though he couldn't have his pets there because it was too small n pets weren't allowed. But that was a _secret._

Jon still thought his house was best. But maybe not as best as the farm. 

Anyways. 

Right now he was having _fun._ He was like Freddie from Scooby-Doo! That meant Dami was Shaggy! 

"'M not Shaggy, he's _weird_ and he eats a lot and he likes _burgers."_ Damian was making an 'ick' face. 

"Yeah, but you've got a big doggie like Scooby! And Scooby n Shaggy go together!" Jon explained. 

Damian made his thinkin' face. "I won't eat burgers. Those'r cows, and I like cows." 

"That's ok! Shaggy does other things too! He always helps catch the bad guys!" 

Dami nodded. "I would be good at catching bad guys."

Mr. Dick laughed from behind them, and then caught them both in his arms lifting them high high _high_ and spinning them fast fast _fast!_

"I'm sure if there were bad guys here, you'd catch them super fast and in the coolest trap ever." Mr. Dick said, as Jon squealed and Dami made a noise like _"putmedownyouheathen"_

Jon didn't know what a heathen was. He was pretty sure it was a kind of chicken, but Dami said it a lot. He said his momma said it was a bad word. That always made Mr. Dick make an 'ick' face. And Dami's father if he was there. They didn't like Dami's momma much, but Dami didn't know why. Jon was pretty sure his pa knew, but he wouldn't tell. Dami's momma was a secret too. 

At some point at the night, Jon got tired. And that's when he realized that it was really _really_ dark here, and old, and cold and _creepy._ Whining, he pulled at Dami's hand. The other (slightly older, but smaller) boy looked at him and seemed to understand.

Dami always understood. Jon was pretty sure he was magic. 

Taking his hand, they wandered away peering through empty rooms until they found Conner and Timmy and Miss Steph. Jon didn't like Miss Steph, because Conner didn't like Miss Steph. But right now he seemed ok with her, so maybe Jon was too. Running over to his brother, he jumped and was caught. He snuggled into his big brother's chest. It was warm and his shirt was soft because it was old and washed a lot. Jon looked to see if Dami wanted to snuggle with his brother too, but Dami was just scowling at Timmy. They'd probably be fine. Dami liked scowling, and he liked Timmy too, but that was another _secret._

Comfy in his brother's arms (Conner would protect him if any ghosts came while he was asleep) Jon had _almost_ drifted off when Mr. Dick ran in screeching. Oops. They hadn't _meaned_ to run off without him. 

Dami lifted his arms too, and despite Mr. Dick saying that Dami was _too old to be carried,_ he picked Dami up anyways. 

And yeah, Jon was pretty sure this was the _bestest night ever._

* * *

Conner and Steph had worked out a hesitant truce. _For now._

He hadn't done it for her. He'd done it for Tim. And she had too, because he was precious to them both. Watching the way his face lit up when he talked about those stupid society ducks or whatever, it made him grin like the happiness was infectious. And he'd never let anything ruin that, ever. There weren't many people he cared so deeply about, but Tim and Jon? 

God. He'd give his _soul_ to keep them safe. 

Watching the video made him _happy._ And since it was Lex's weekend, it was more than needed and appreciated. He cooed over the adorable antics of the two troublemakers, watched with a buzz of thrill as he watched Cass, Jason and Bab's do their seance, and snorted with amusement as he watched the way Bab's had edited the bickering into something amusing that almost seemed harmless. 

"What are you grinning about?" Lex asked lowly from the entryway to his room. 

"Nothin'" Conner bookmarked the page and snapped his laptop shut with a glare. Yeah, life kinda sucked. But there were people who made it suck considerably less. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :P I posted the wrong thing like an idiot. But it's the right thing now! 
> 
> I love baby Jon don't touch me. He's like 8 here (Dami's 11) and the most Pure child you will ever meet. DC's grown up Jon agenda can suck my toes he's my baBY. (Stop breaking my heart pls.)
> 
> Idk why we have a plot now.... that was an oops but oH WELL! Yeehaw. 
> 
> Stay safe, be nice to each other, see ya'll later! <3


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh babies!" She flourished dramatically, causing the woman accompanying her to mean into her hands. "I'm hooooome!" 

"Kate, Renee," Bruce stepped out into the foyer, wrapping his cousin and her partner into a warm hug. "Thanks for agreeing to this. Since Tim's immuno-compromised we _really_ need him out of the house. And Dick's... well. He needs the distraction."

The redhead waved her hand dismissively, "Oh please. You know we love having them.Just make sure my favorite monster and mini-monster are fit to join us for another outing soon."

Bruce nodded, the _almost_ imperceptable tightening of his jaw betraying just how stressed he really was. 

* * *

Typically, Cass did her best to withold judgement when it came to the moods of her brothers. But sometimes enough was _enough._

With a hugg, she grabbed Dick's go-bag in one hand, and with the other, grabbed and twisted his ear, yanking him out of the room. At first, he made to protest. But after she fixed him with a ~~death~~ glare, he quieted. She was sure there was an i--

An idiot-- _no wait._

An i-- _oh whatever._

A _saying_ about this. 

"Pot. Watching." She tried her best. 

"A watched pot never boils," Dick filled in for her, smiling proudly at her attempt. "I know, I know, I just _hate_ seeing them like this."

"Cold," she soothed. They would be fine. Leslie had already assured ~~and reassured and reassured _again just for Dick_~~ that the two would be back up and running in just a few days provided they got enough rest now. 

("Also," the family doctor had fixed her glare on the second eldest boy, his fever doing absolutely nothing to curb her anger. "Provided you _never do that again._ What were you _thinking_ you absolute _brat?!_ The next time you take your baby brother out on a motorcycle when it's _storming outside_ you better _hope_ you crash and don't make it in to see me. Jason Peter Todd-Wayne I _swear--"_ )

Dick nodded, but still looked really _sad._

Cass thought it might have something to do with something that happened that year when Bruce took a "sabatical" just after Dami had arrived. But she wasn't _really_ sure about it, since none of them had really been around. Dick had never _mentioned_ Dami getting sick before, but she was pretty sure Alfred had mentioned something about the littlest member of their family not having had any vaccinations until he came to the manor. ~~Then again, she'd been receiving her first round of shots at the time, so nothing was _really_ clear about the whole incident.~~

Gently, she let go of his ear, reaching up on tip toes to press her lips against the spot in a quiet apology. Dick chuckled, low and deep in his chest, and wrapped his arms around her for a moment. Regaining his composure, he ruffled her hair and grabbed his bag from her before darting towards the stairs. "C'mon! Better get going before Aunt Kate and Montoya leave without us!" 

Cass laughed and made to follow him, but not before poking her head into their father's room, where two bodies were curled up around each other, cheeks fever flushed in their sleep. "Rest well, brothers. Feel better. Love you." 

* * *

Man, when any of the Wayne kids got sick it was really the _worst._

Steph eyed Tim warily from where he was practically vibrating in the seat next to her, mask askew and threatening to fall off his face at any given moment. He could probably take it off now that they were in the car, but hadn't seem to thought of it yet. She'd gotten the call late last night, a stressed Bruce on the other line as he explained that the two rebel children had caught pretty nasty colds (well, Jay's hadn't been that bad, actually, but Dami's immune system still tended to take a big hit when he got sick at all) and Alfred was out of the country visiting family and _please Steph_ could she help his cousin and her partner figure out something to get Tim out of the house? 

Thankfully, Steph had met Aunt Kate and Montoya before. The redhead was a stern woman most of the time, her military background causing her to be ever vigilant ~~perhaps a bit paranoid, even,~~ but being around the family and her partner caused her to soften considerably. Montoya was the one Steph had met first though, way back when she had first met Babs. The beautiful woman was a crucial member of the GCPD, someone Barbara had fondly refered to as "one of the best of us all" ~~and Steph had gaped, watching the way her role model's eyes lit up as she talked about her own role model.~~ Montoya was like a willow, firm and unyielding, and yet gentle and careful, and undeniably clever. 

(It had been a really big deal when she and Kate had gotten together, apparently. Watching them was _interesting_ , they had a certain push-pull that bordered on aggressive but lingered on passionate. Cass had leaned over to her once and whispered in Steph's ear, "balance, good. Love.") 

So she'd been really excited to see Kate's number light up her phone. Normally, they left all this planning stuff to Dick, but Bruce had been pretty clear that Dick wasn't really able to pull himself to focus right now. So between the three of them, and with a little extra help from Babs, they'd made a good plan. 

The two women had driven by her place before hitting up the mannor. As soon as he'd been allowed out of his room, Tim and _launched_ himself into the van with an excited _shriek._ Steph laughed and poked at him as he essentially bounced off the vehicle walls. Being confined to his room was just about the worst thing for Tim to be, between the copious amounts of caffeine he had stockpiled and the utter _nonsense_ he'd get himself worked up about. 

Before being allowed out, he'd been wrestled into a face mask (with extra filters!) ~~probably literally wrested into it by Bruce~~ and been stocked up with extra multivitamins and antibiotics ~~Steph was pretty sure Dr. Thompkins wouldn't approve but whatever.~~

They'd wrestled around in the van for a bit before Montoya had made her way out, small grin on her face as she loaded Tim's go-bag and equipment into the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat of the vehicle. She'd chided them softly, but made no move to _actually_ seperate them as they waited for the others. Eventually the doors opened again and the others crowded out ~~Dick looking reluctant, Cass exasperated.~~

The trio made their way to the van and crowded in, Cass settling in the row behind Steph and Tim, Dick settling behind Cass and stretching his legs out over the empty seat. She heard him fidgeting with something, but resisted looking back as the van started off. Which brought them to _now._

Tim was chattering away happily, not needing much input from anyone else to keep going. Dick was unusually quiet, not having Barbara or Dami to be his usual partners in crime. The other redhead would be meeting them at the location though, so he wouldn't be lonely for long. 

At one point though, Montoya made the mistake of mentioning "those damned owls." 

The occupants of the van froze. 

"Babe... please don't...." Kate groaned from behind the wheel.

"You see them too! You know it's the Court, right?!" Tim shouted, looking _entirely_ too excited.

" _Yes!"_ Montoya had shouted back, also looking _way to excited._ _"Yes!_ See, Kate, I _told_ you! They're up in all these old building and you _know_ they've got some secret plans for Gotham, right?" 

"Oh, oh _man,_ I've got this flowchart! Wait till we get home I'll show you--"

Kate and Steph groaned in unison. 

Thankfully, not too long after that they reached their destination. Barbara and her father were waiting for them in the lobby of the GCPD headquarters. The elder Gordon went over all the rules for them staying overnight. Nothing they hadn't heard before. Then he pulled Babs close, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before leaving for the night with a nod at Montoya. He was probably expecting her to be the adult, but in that case Steph had some very sad news for the man. 

Settling into their usual routine quickly, everyone was partnered off. Dick and Babs would be together this time, Tim and Montoya ~~which caused Kate to pout,~~ Cass and Steph and Kate making up the only trio of the night. They divided rooms amongst themselves and took off. This time, Babs and Montoya got to play historian, but as the conspiracy duo took off to hunt for owls, it was _clearly_ far from their minds. 

Kate snorted as she watched them go off, before leading them off in a different direction. 

They made a good team. Kate was an efficient worker, amongst other things, and they got everything _done_ quickly. Which meant they also got _bored_ quickly. Cass seemed to pick up on it, snorting and shaking her head at them, before making a shooing motion with her hands that could be summed up as _I've got this, go away before you make me crazy._

Aunt Kate grinned and nodded and then she and Steph were _off,_ running across the building with laughter in their throats, as they went to annoy the slueting duo first, and then Dick and Babs ~~and shrieking about the need to burn their eyes when they caught the older pair doing something that was _not_ ghost hunting. _GROSS._~~

At some point, Tim joined in the chaos, and then they were _all_ running about, wearing themselves out. Some just for the fun of it, some to distract themselves. It didn't matter really, as one by one they crashed around the time the sun rose above the horizon. Montoya and Kate helped them pack up quickly before herding them all to the van. It wasn't back to the Wayne mannor, not yet. They'd be spending the night (day?) together before Babs and Steph went home. The Wayne kids would stay with Kate and Montoya until given the all-clear to come home. 

Steph hoped that was soon.

As fun as the night had been, it had been weird, without Dami's snappy retorts and insults, without Jason's soothing-yet-menacing older bro presence. Steph would never admit it out loud, but without them it just didn't really feel _right._

As she drifted off, leaning against a lightly-snoring Tim, she reflected on how _happy_ she was, being a part of this big, stupid, frenzied, _fantastic_ family.

* * *

In the end, there hadn't been much footage that was useable from that night. 

There had been just barely enough, but, being the genius that she was, Barbara had included a blooper at the end of the normal episode. A soft, short "meanwhile" segment. 

Apparently, Dick had (goodness knows _when_ ) set up cameras around the room so he could keep an eye on his brothers when out with the rest of them. A slightly more advanced _baby monitor_ for lack of a better description. Renee was desperately amused by it, though she'd scolded the eldest brother about privacy when Kate had caught the viewing program pulled up on his laptop. 

Kate smiled fondly as she watched the segment again. 

Jason and Damian were sitting up on the bed. Someone had put music on, something soft and soothing and sentimental that she vaguely recognized from.... _somewhere._ Jason had a book ~~not surprising~~ and was reading softly aloud to the younger boy, who had curled up against his chest, cheeks red as he shivered softly and burrowed into his brother's warm chest. ~~Surprising.~~

As the older boy kept reading, his voice tripped and choked over lines about "I love you like misfortune loves orphans" and Kate watched as the tiny baby terror promptly burst into tears, still fever-tired as he was, which caused Jason in turn to get teary-eyed. ~~The most surprising. And. Absolutely _adorable._~~

And if the next week she got a call from Bruce asking if she could come over and watch Dick, who had had an "accident" with the stairs and was now sporting a cast around his ankle? Well. The boy's grin told her that he still thought it well-worth it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is either "Everything Stays" from Adventure Time or "Dear Theodosia"/"Theodosia (Reprise)" (Sara Bareilles Vers.) from Hamilton, because I used all three to draw inspo for this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry, I know it's been a while, but I've been having unexpected life situations and then got off course with my SSRIs, so time has been extremely wonky for me. Always take your meds, kids!!! 
> 
> I've actually been planning for this scenes from this chapter since I started. It was supposed to be further on, but with everything happening in my life, I really needed it. 
> 
> Also. I know Renee might have been ooc at times but, I wanted to play a bit into the idea of her being a secret conspiracy theorist as a tiny nod to Question. Because. As much as I love Vic Sage. Montoya is the Question who mattered to me. 
> 
> Tbh I love Renee Montoya in general. I grew up on the BTAS, where Montoya first showed up, and as a half-Mexican woman, who isn't straight and had to hide herself from her Very Catholic family for most of her life.... Montoya was everything to me. She was strong and beautiful and passionate, everything I ever wanted to be. And no matter what happened to her, she was a hero who helped people. To this day one of my biggest role models. Sure she isn't perfect, but who is? She's supposed to be one of the POVs in The Other History of The DC Universe, and yall. When I tell you I cannot wait for that comic..... Idk why I'm more excited for it than other upcoming stories, but I just AM. 
> 
> Anyways. I should stop now before you get a FULL college-paper level rant. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk lmao.
> 
> Stay safe n healthy! Love yourselves, and love each other! See you again (hopefully) soon!


	6. Chapter 6

Jason wasn't sure if it were better to blame Bruce or to blame Dick.

Listen. 

It wasn't the kid. He was sweet, and looked at them all with too-big eyes but still managed to snark at them with unashamed ferocity. All in all, he was fitting in like a missing puzzle piece, and loathe as he was to admit it, Jason already _adored_ him.

Still. This little orphan collection... Maybe they needed to see a therapist. 

Jason sighed as he heard a familiar war-cry a few rooms over, followed by the unmistakeable _PAT PAT SMACK_ of nerf darts. 

There was a sharp squeal, and then his bedroom door was being flung open as Tim came crashing in, managing to launch himself over Jason's bed (and body) to hide behind him in an impressively nimble move ~~that felt suspiciously like something Dick had taught him.~~

Moments later a tiny-yet-intimidating shadow filled the doorway, and Jason chuckled as he pointed behind the bed, selling out the little twerp. 

Well. At least the new kid was still younger than him. Jason _loved_ being an older brother. 

* * *

Dick surveyed the room, watching from his chair, Damian settled in his lap and Jason perched on the arm rest ~~pretending he wasn't trying to drape around Dick's shoulders like the cat Dick knew him and Dami to both be.~~

Duke, their new brother ( _new brother, new brother, NEW BROTHER AHHHHH_ ), was situated next to Tim, listening as he prattled on about their newest location. Steph and Cass had both somehow managed to smush themselves into his side, much to Duke's combined amusement and confusion. 

Technically, it was kinda sorta maybe absolutely Dick's intervention that had brought the boy to Bruce's attention. He'd been at the library, looking through resources for... a _complication_ that had popped up with Dami's mother. Sure, they had a whole barrage of lawyers on speed dial, but Dick didn't trust them worth a darn. Money sharks. So he'd taken to looking up legal precedents and other things just to make sure they didn't miss anything that he needed to bring to their attention. 

In the usually-empty legal stacks he'd found a boy. Couldn't have been older than Tim, absolutely enthralled by the book in his hands, which Dick quickly recognized as Hamlet. He'd seen the same dust jacket in Jason's hands more times than he could count. 

Clearing his throat, the kid looked up at him. There had been a bruise on his cheekbone, and Dick's heart had ached for this strange kid holed up in the legal section with classical literature who reminded him _so damn much_ of his little brothers. 

"Sorry, I just need to reach over you for something." 

"Oh! Yea, man, 'course." The boy had quickly scrambled out of his way, looking curiously over at the book Dick had selected. "You seem kinda young to need that. Law school?" 

"Nah, there's a custody battle for my brother. It's gotten kinda crazy." 

"Huh."

And just like that the conversation had flowed. The boy had introduced himself, Duke, and had been easy to talk to. Dick had been reluctant to leave him at the end of the day, but the kid had insisted he could walk himself home. "It isn't far, I'll be fine, but thanks."

The next day, Dick went back. He'd forgotten to make a copy from one of the legal encyclopedias. Duke was there again.

And the next day, when he went to check out of curioustiy.

And the next day.

The day after that, Duke shyly had asked if Dick knew anything about becoming an emancipated minor, since he'd been reading so many legal articles. 

That had been the first night Dick had asked if Duke wanted to sleep over. Duke had said no at first. So Dick had asked about coming over for lunch, which the kid ~~(too skinny, too skittish, so much like Jason and Cass and Tim and Dami and Steph and himself in the old days)~~ had been more agreeable too. And _that_ had been the trap. No one could say no to Alfred. 

It turned out Duke's parents had passed about a year prior. He'd gone into foster care, and that was all the other's had needed to hear. Dick and Jason knew the system all too well, and even if the others hadn't had to go through that, they'd always had a good sense of when things were wrong, and had quickly taken to gluing themselves to Duke's side. 

The kid still seemed cautious, like he thought they were going to kick him out or take it all back. It made Dick's chest ache, but all they could do was give him time and make sure he was included. 

So. 

So, that meant he had to be included in _everything._

Duke looked up at him, eyes narrowed in suspicion, and nudged Tim. Who also looked at him with suspicion. Little bros, no trust. Or maybe he had what Jason had dubbed him "up to no good smile" on. Whoops. Well. Whatever. 

He snorted as Dami poked at one of his cheeks. "You're doing that thing again."

Well. That answered that question. 

"No trust, Lil D. No trust."

"No, we just _know_ you, asshole," Jason grunted, reaching down to jab at the other side of his face. 

"Whatever, just go get packed."

* * *

The drive had been short this time, since Babs had agreed to meet them before they left and Steph had stayed over the past two nights anyways. They'd been reached out to by another Gotham socialite, who's family home wasn't too far from them. The owner would be out of town for the next two weeks, and had given them free reign for the weekend. They'd left them with some family legends, the likes of which weren't uncommon with old Gotham families. 

The grounds were smaller than the Wayne's estate, but still large enough for a family burial site, some gardens, and some extra buildings. 

Jason was simultaneously both overwhelmed and the underwhelmed. It still seemed like so damn much compared to what he remembered from childhood, and yet there was the disonance that had shown up over the years from being with Bruce. 

Duke made a sound next to him, and Jason noticed his mirrored expression. "You good, kid?"

"Yea, yea, it's just. I was gonna say it was a lot, y'know? Like I can't believe people actually live like this, but then I remembered that I guess _I_ live like this now. It's just--"

"-- _weird as snot,_ trust me, I get it."

Duke looked up at him. Jason was still getting used to it, the big brown-eyed gaze. On one hand, it was just weird to have a brother with brown eyes, the color he'd come to so closely associate with Cass. They were sweet, like puppy eyes. They were also a strange combination of innocent, and world-weary. Jason wrapped an arm around the kid's shoulders and led him inside.

* * *

This was all _so_ strange.

On one had, Duke had a hard time he was _here._ Like, what was that? He'd just been lucky enough to run into Dick Grayson, _the Dick Grayson AKA the first adopted-son and heir apparent of Bruce Wayne,_ in a random library in downtown Gotham, and the dude had just, what. Whisked him away? Like Duke was some fairytale princess. It had been quick and crazy, and felt entirely unreal. Why was he here? He hadn't done anything to deserve any of this.

His first instinct had been to run. 

But that first night, the door to ~~the guest~~ _his_ room had creaked open, and curious brown eyes had peered at him through the darkness. Cassandra Wayne, the only daughter (adopted or otherwise) of the illustrious Wayne family. She was notorious in the gossip mags for her silence, and her lack of interactions with the other Gotham debutants. Duke hadn't expected to see her at all, all too ready to be snubbed by the girl. 

Yet. 

As soon as they'd made eye contact, she'd slipped into the room, settling at the foot of ~~his~~ the bed with two steaming mugs in her hands. She'd handed him one, and he'd cautiously taken a sip of the best cocoa he'd ever had. She'd smiled, "Jason made."

"Oh," he'd said, because he wasn't sure what else to say. 

"I remember," she had mused, speaking in startling halting English that made him question the things he'd read and wonder if she'd been shunning Gotham or if those other high society ladies were shunning _her._ "I remember, the first night. House is big. House is old. And sometimes very loud and cold. I--I can stay?"

And so she had, and so he had too. She was right, the house had been very big and very old, and excessively loud in the way big old houses were described in books. It most certainly would've scared him away if he'd been alone, but within the hour, he'd been joined by not only Cass, but Dick and Jason and Tim, even Damian, and they'd stayed all night doing silly nothings. Jason had taken turns with him, reading out loud from Shakespeare, Tim had gone on tangents about the ethical evils of Indiana Jones ~~(Duke hadn't the heart to tell him he'd never seen any of the films).~~ Damian had taken to wandering in and out, bringing in various animals (real ones and stuffies alike, although thankfully the other boys had banned him from bringing in the turkey or trying to bring up the cow, so he'd been limited to just the cat and two dogs). 

Dick had just... been Dick. Making jokes where he could, wrapping himself around random siblings when he got cold (Duke included), holding back Damian when he'd gotten to aggressive. And it had been... nice. So, Duke had stayed. 

And now it had been a few weeks, and they were dragging him out for their notorious ghost hunt, and Duke felt... weird. It was all surreal. What was he _doing_ here? 

"OKAY!" Dick cheered and clapped his hands, and Duke blushed as he realized he'd missed most of the introduction talk, and made sure to listen as Dick split them into groups. 

"Tim, Steph, Dami, you guys are going to take the old servants' quarters, alright?! That's where the ghost maid is supposed to show up. Don't forget to try out the new spirit box, sometimes she vocalizes, according the home owner."

There was a groan from Damian as Steph made a whooping noise and quickly squished the grumpy kid against her chest, muffling any complaint. "Oh, we are going to have a _blast,_ right Dami?" 

Tim looked like he wasn't sure about that. 

Dick cackled before going back to his page of notes. "Alright, Babs and I are going to take the graveyard, there's an old crypt out there with some suspicious activity. That leaves Jay, Duke, and Cass for the library. Sound good?" 

There were murmurs of confirmation from the girls while Jason snorted. "There's always a library ghost, huh? Guess I can't complain though." 

Duke couldn't help when a chuckle escaped him. He wasn't wrong.

The trio made their way up the stairs, into the library. It was different than the one he'd taken to curling up in. Older, more traditional, like an old college library. There were big old wooden bookshelves (none of the fancy first editions that he and Jason had reverantly taken to praising and bonding over when the others weren't looking) and a few wooden desks. One in particular had various items strewn about it. 

Cass quickly made her way to it, setting up lighting to get good camera angles. Jason nudged Duke, "so, the old man who died here, the lawyer or whatever. Supposedly crazy touchy about his things. I'm gonna steal his pen. Hear that old fart?! I'M TAKING IT!"

With that, the blue eyed boy snatched up an old fountain pen, waving around at the air while Cass giggled and filmed him. Duke grinned, beginning to play along. "You know, we'll be happy to give the pen back, all you have to do is ask. Just. Let us know! Or, if you don't feel like talking, you could move... the ink jar! Just move it a little along the desk and we'll set everything back just the way you like it, yea?" 

Silence. 

Jason and Duke shouted, trying to bargain with the "ghost" some more, before they finally gave up. Jason put the pen down, on the opposite edge of where he'd picked it up. 

They all set about putting up motion sensors, and setting out sleeping bags. 

"So, do you actually believe in ghosts?" Jason peered at him through the darkness. 

"Dunno. I think most of it is phoney, for sure. But I can't say for sure there aren't _any_ spirits or whatever out there." 

Cass nodded at him, humming in a tone he'd been learning meant agreement. "Practical."

"I guess. It's like that Arthur Conan Doyle quote, right? About eliminating things to find the truth."

"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, whatever improbable, must be the truth," Jason quoted. Because of course he did. 

Cass and Duke swapped a look before speaking in unison. "Nerd."

Maybe this whole weird... _whatever it was,_ was freaky. But Duke thought maybe he was pretty cool with this whole sibling thing. 

The rest of the night went quietly. Or at least, they thought it did, until the next morning, as they were picking up equipment. Duke and Jason had just finished grabbing the last of the motion sensors when Cass froze. "Desk."

"What about it?" Duke peered over at the spot she'd focused on. "Looks just like when we... wait. Jason, didn't you put that pen in the _wrong_ spot?"

"Holy shit," Jason looked over at them with wide eyes. 

They all looked at each other before grabbing their bags and _bolting_ from the room. 

* * *

Bruce smiled as he watched the newest video, feeling a warmth spread through his chest. 

He'd been worried about Duke. It wasn't an easy transition, by any means. He knew it from taking in all his kids, from basically having Steph move in (sure, she stayed home about half the time, but it was fair to say that she was a resident here as well, with the way she came and went like a stray cat and the fact that they'd long since given her a key). 

But there was no way he couldn't have, not when he'd heard Dick talk about the boy that first day, not when he finally came over and the way he'd reminded him of his other sons had been like a sucker punch to the gut. Not when he'd learned that Duke was _alone_ in a broken system and he _knew_ he had the means to help. Sure, he could also try to fix the system, and he was. But some things take time, and by then Duke would've aged out and... and Bruce had never been good at saying no. Especially sure of his decision after that first night, when he'd gone to check on the boy at around one in the morning just to see him curled up with the others, looking like he'd always been there.

Watching him play with the others on screen, watching him joke with Jay and debate with Tim about whether the "Pen Incident" had been due to a draft or not ("If it was a _draft,_ then why didn't the papers move, huh? And the motion sensors focused on the desk went off!" "The _motion sensors_ went off because the _draft_ in the _very old house_ caused the pen to _move,_ duh!"), he felt relieved. 

They'd be ok.

All his kids were going to be ok. 

They had each other, after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Things have been wild lately. Sorry about the gap in time, but I'll be able to pick this up somewhat during the holidays, at least? Not sure how frequently. My mom just tested positive for Covid, and while my dad tested negative for that, he HAS tested positive for the flu. I'm lowkey losing my mind. I just happen to be petsitting, which is why I've managed to avoid both of them, but my youngest brother started showing some gross symptoms this morning, and the other one has basically barricaded himself in his room... So. Like I said. Wild. 
> 
> Sorry it took so long to introduce Duke! I was highkey nervous about being able to write him, but he is a Bat Bro and will be joining the chaos (somewhat reluctantly) from now on. 
> 
> Also. As a side note. Does Dami have mice now? I won't lie, I'm quickly loosing track of all his pets. I'm technically not allowed to judge bc I snuck home a cat, a betta fish, an axolotl, and the snail + ghost shrimp that live with the betta, but still. I'm lucky I keep track of my own pets, you feel?

**Author's Note:**

> This is a dumb concept, but I'm having fun with it for now. I've never written for this fandom before, so I do hope y'all enjoy. 
> 
> Stay safe, remember to be nice to each other. I'll see you soon with the next chapter!


End file.
